Built in oven



A. G. NELSON BUILT IN OVEN 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 f Filed Jan. 12, 1955INVENTOR. 23 072 United States Patent BUILT IN OVEN Aver-d G. Nelson,Wisconsin Rapids, Wis., assignor to Preway Inc., a corporation ofWisconsin Application January 12, 1955, Serial No. 481,352

2 Claims. (Cl. 12621) This invention relates to a cooking oven andparticularly to an oven adapted to be built into a wall or cabinet inthe home or elsewhere.

Ovens adapted to be mounted in a cavity in a wall or cabinet have beenavailable previously and have conventionally included panels at thefront of the oven which frame the oven door or doors and overlap theperiphery of the opening into which the oven is inserted in order toclose the cavity, the oven being inserted into the cavity to a finalposition in which the rear faces of the panels at the front of the ovenare in engagement with the front face of the wall or cabinet in whichthe cavity is provided.

It has been found that the panels at the front of the oven become wellheated and transmit excessive heat to the wall or cabinet, which isoften constructed of materials that easily become overheated, thusresulting in discoloration of the finish and the creation of a firehazard.

It is a general object of the present invention to provide a new andimproved built-in oven of the type described including means providingfor proper ventilation of the panels at the front of the oven.

A more specific object of the invention is to provide a new and improvedoven of the type described, having front panels framing the door,including a bottom panel, side panels and a top panel, each of thepanels having openings at the top and bottom providing connectingpassages into, through, and out the panels to adequately ventilate thepanels and prevent overheating.

It is'also an object of the invention to provide a new and improved ovenof the type described, having front panels framing the front door,including a top instrument panel having means to prevent overheating ofthe panel.

Another object is to provide a new and improved oven of the typedescribed having front panels framing the door including meansadjustably mounting the side panels to permit proper positioning withrelation to the other panels.

Other objects and advantages will become readily apparent from thefollowing detailed description taken in connection with the accompanyingdrawings,- in which:

Fig. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing an oven embodying myinvention and a suitable cabinet structure in which it may be mounted;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged side elevation of the oven showing the means bywhich the bottom and side panels may be mounted;

Fig. 3 is a front elevational view of the oven, having arrows whichindicate the path of air flow through the front panels;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3,and having a portion broken away to show the openings at the bottom ofthe bottom panel; and

Fig. 5 is an enlarged sectional view taken on the line ice The inventionfurther resides in the combination, con-.

struction and arrangement of parts illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings, and while I have shown therein a preferred embodiment, I wishit understood that the same is susceptible of modification and changewithin the scope of the appended claims. 7

Referring now to Fig. 1, I have illustrated a suitable cabinet structure10 in which an oven 12 embodying my invention may be mounted. Thecabinet 10 includes a rear wall 14, a front wall 16, side walls 18 andatop wall 20. The cabinet is essentially hollow and the front wall 16 isprovided with an opening 22 in which the oven may be inserted. Rails 24are mounted inside the cabinet to support the oven. Suitable electricalwiring 25 of a conventional type may be provided in the cabinet forconnection to the oven to provide heat.

The oven 12 includes a casing 26 which defines an insulated cookingchamber. A door 28 is pivotally mounted by conventional means at thefront of the casing 26 adjacent the bottom. The door is adapted to closethe cooking chamber and may be partly opened for broiling or completelyopened to provide access to the cooking chamber.

Front panels including a bottom panel 30, side panels 32, and a toppanel 34 are secured to the front of the casing 26, framing the door 28.The oven is placed in the cabinet and moved rearwardly to its finalposition in which the panels overlap the perimeter of the opening 22,the rear of the panels being in flush engagement with the front face ofthe front cabinet wall 16. The walls of the oven casing 26 are spacedfrom the walls of the cabinet 10 to permit the free circulation of airso that vision is made to adequately ventilate thefront panels in orderto prevent overheating. The panels are of ahollow construction and areprovided with openings at the top and bottom which permit air tocirculate freely through the panels.

Referring to Fig. 4, the bottom panel 30 is a hollow,rectangularly-shaped member which is open at the rear. The panelincludes a bottom flange 36 having elongated cut-away openings 38 whichadmit room air to the interior of the panel. The panel includes a topflange 40 having openings 42 adjacent opposite ends which exhaust airfrom the interior of the panel. The panel is completed by side flangesat opposite ends of the panel as at'43 (Figs. 1 and 2). The panel 30 maybe secured to the casing 26 by means which, as illustrated in Fig. i

2, may'include a rearwardly projecting prong 44 rigidly secured to thepanel and adapted to be forcibly inserted into a receiving bracket 46attached to the casing. The panel may be detached by withdrawing theprong, from the bracket '46.

The side panels 32 are identical and interchangeable, and. eachcomprises an elongated, essentially channelshaped member having sideflanges 47 (Figs. 1, 2 and 4) and substantially open at both the top andbottom ends as a top flange 49 (Fig. 5) has an opening 49a ofsubstantial proportions therethrough and a similar bottom flange 51(Fig. 4) has a similar opening 51a therethrough. Each side panel ismounted on the casing 26 with the opening 51a at the bottomend inregister with an exhaust opening 42 in the bottom panel 30, to admit airto the side panel. Each of the side panels is adjustably secured to thecasing by means illustrated in Figs.

Patented Dec. 29, '1 959 2 and 5', including spaced brackets 48 rigidlysecured to the panel and each having an elongated slot 50 which receivesa bolt 52 adapted to be threaded into the casing. This means foradjustably mounting the side panels on the casing 26 permits the sidepanels to be properly adjusted in flush relationship to the door 28, thebottom panel 30 and the top panel 34. The mounting for the side panelsalso facilitates adjustment of the panels to place the end openings inregister with associated openings in the top and bottom panels.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 3, the top panel 34 houses suitableinstruments, indicated generally at 53, arranged across the casing abovethe door for controlling the heat supplied to the oven. Referring toFig. 5, the panel 34 includes a bottom flange 54 having openings 56adjacent its opposite ends, adapted to register respectively with theopenings 49a at the top ends of the channel-shaped side panels 32. Thepanel includes a top flange 58 having spaced exhaust openings 60 whichpermit the circulating air to escape. The panel 34 is secured to thecasing by suitable fastening means such as bolts illustrated generallyat 62 inserted through suitable openings 64 provided in both the top andbottom flanges 54 and 58. The top panel is completed by side flanges 65(Figs. 1, 2 and 5) at opposite ends of the panel.

Referring to Fig. 2, the top panel 34 is formed with an upwardly andoutwardly inclined deflector portion 66 which is adapted to deflect hotgases from the cooking chamber away from the instrument panel 34 whenthe door 28 is opened, and particularly when the door is in a partlyopen position for broiling, as illustrated in Fig. 2.

When the oven is mounted in its final position the rear of the panelsengage the front of the cabinet to define air passages. In operation,room air enters the bottom panel 30 through openings 38, passing outthrough the openings 42 into the open lower ends of the side panels 32,out of the side panels through the open upper ends, into the registeringopenings 56 in the bottom of the top panel 34 and out through theexhaust openings 60. The freely circulating air passing through thepanels prevents the panels from becoming overheated and avoids thetransmission of excessive heat to the cabinet front. The passage ofventilating air through the instrument panel 34 prevents the instrumentsfrom being damaged as a consequence of overheating. Additionally, thedeflector 66 on the instrument panel directs hot air from the oven awayfrom the instruments.

I claim:

1. An oven adapted to be mounted in a cabinet or the like comprising, incombination, a casing defining a coking chamber, a front door adapted toclose the cooking chamber, generally flat front panels lying in theplane of the front door, framing the front door, and projectingoutwardly from the casing in the plane of the door to engage the frontof a cabinet when the oven is mounted, said panels including a bottompanel extending transversely beneath the door, side panels extendingvertically at opposite sides of the door and a top panel extendingtransversely over the door, means for detachably securing the top andbottom panels to the casing, and means mounting the side panels foradjustment on the casing in a front to rear direction with respect tothe door and the top and bottom panels, said panels each havingrearwardly directed top, bottom and side flanges providing a hollowconstruction, the bottom flange on said bottom panel having at least oneair inlet opening therethrough and the top flange on said bottom panelhaving at least two air outlet openings therethrough, the bottom flangeon each side panel having at least one air inlet opening therethrough inregister with one of the openings in the top flange of the bottom paneland the top flange on each side panel having an air outlet openingtherethrough, the bottom flange on said top panel having at least twoair inlet openings therethrough in register respectively with the airoutlet openings in the top flanges of said side panels and the topflange on said top panel having at least one air outlet openingtherethrough, thereby to ventilate the panels and prevent overheatingwhen the oven is in use.

2. An oven adapted to be mounted in a cabinet or the like, comprising,in combination, a casing defining a cooking chamber having a frontopening, a front door adapted to close the opening, and generally flatfront panel means secured to the casing, lying substantially in theplane of the front door, framing the front door, and projectingoutwardly from the casing in the plane of the door to engage the frontof a cabinet when the oven is mounted, said front panel means includinga bottom panel, side panels and a top panel, each having rearwardlydirected side, top and bottom flanges and being engageable with thefront of a cabinet when the oven is mounted to define air passages, saidbottom panel extending transversely below the level of the door, one ofsaid side panels extending vertically at each side of the door and eachabutting the bottom panel, said top panel extending transversely overthe top of the door and abutting both side panels, said bottompanelhaving at least one inlet opening in the bottom flange thereof to admitventilating air, said bottom panel and said side panels havingregistered openings in the abutting flanges thereof to pass ventilatingair from the bottom panel to the side panels, said side panels and saidtop panels having registered openings in the abutting flanges thereof topass ventilating air from the side panels to the top panel, and said toppanel having at least one outlet opening in the top flange thereof toexhaust air.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS181,395 Bargis Aug. 22, 1876 254,868 Gudgeon Mar. 14, 1882 1,492,582Smith May 6, 1924 2,303,772 Teichman Dec. 1, 1942 2,525,614 Nelson etal. Oct. 10, 1950 2,661,732 OKeefe Dec. 8, 1953 2,739,584 Hupp Mar. 27,1956 2,752,217 Simon June 26, 1956 2,839,044 Phares June 17, 1958FOREIGN PATENTS 511,141 Great Britain Aug. 10, 1939 OTHER REFERENCESThor Corporation Publication, 1953.

